"This is a life I've never been connected to" - When Andre Agassi shockingly called his Wimbledon triumph 'a dirty little secret'

Andre Agassi once said that he referred to his Wimbledon triumph as a "dirty little secret". The American won the grass-court Major for the only time in his career in 1992.

Agassi entered the tennis circuit as a precocious talent and reached three Grand Slam semifinals as a teenager. He reached three Major finals across 1990 and 1991, losing all of them. However, his drought for a Grand Slam ended in 1992, when he won that year's Wimbledon Championships after defeating Goran Ivanisevic in the final, that lasted five sets.

Agassi spoke to the New York Times 20 years following his triumph at the London Major and said that he initially thought that his life would make sense after winning the grass-court tournament as it wasn't a life he had previously been connected to.

The then-42-year-old also said that he referred to his Wimbledon victory as a "dirty little secret".

“I felt, ‘O.K., now my life will make sense, because this is a life I’ve never been connected to,”’ Agassi said. “And in fact, it just raised the stakes. I refer to it as a dirty little secret, because if somebody had told me it, I probably wouldn’t have done it. If somebody had told me that my angst would have only risen with winning it, I would have reconsidered.”

Andre Agassi's Wimbledon 1992 triumph was his first Grand Slam title

Andre Agassi at the ISPO Munich 2024 (Image Source: Getty)

Andre Agassi's maiden Grand Slam victory came at Wimbledon 1992. The had to wait another two for his next Major triumph, which came at US Open 1994, when he defeated Michael Stich 6-1, 7-6(5), 7-5 in the final. He also won the next Grand Slam at the 1995 Australian Open, defeating rival Pete Sampras 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(6), 6-4 in the title clash.

Agassi had to wait another four years for his next Major triumph, as he came back from two sets down and beat Andriy Medvedev 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 and win the 1999 French Open. That year, he also triumphed at the US Open after bagging a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-2 win over compatriot Todd Martin in the final.

The American won three Grand Slams in the 21st century, all of them at the Australian Open. He won the Asia-Pacific Major in 2000, 2001 and 2003 after defeating Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Arnaud Clement and Rainer Schuttler in the respective finals.